The latest Lely innovation — Lely Astronaut A4 robotic milking system

The latest Lely innovation — Lely Astronaut A4 robotic milking system

Lely is proud to announce the latest in dairy innovation: the Lely Astronaut A4 robotic milking system. The first public showing in the United States will take place at World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin, Oct. 4 – 8, 2011.

Although this new Astronaut is filled with innovative features, the most revealing is Lely’s vision to take dairy automation one step further, creating a product that allows more freedom for the cow, more control for the farmer and produces more milk as a result. The Astronaut A4 robotic milking system is truly the natural way of milking.

The main revolutionary feature of the Lely Astronaut A4 cow box is the walkthrough design called the I-flow concept. Allowing the cow to walk straight in and out of the box eliminates any unnecessary obstacles, further reducing the threshold for the cow to enter the cow unit at her own pace. The spacious cow-friendly design and positioning of the cow unit allows for continuous interaction with the rest of the herd and eliminates unnecessary stress on the cow.

The Astronaut A4 is set up as a modular concept. A central unit features a central vacuum and cleaning system for up to two cow units. It is self-contained and a configuration with two cow units can span a distance up to 90 feet, which ensures much more freedom and space for the positioning of the units in the barn. Due to its modular design, it is a valid option both for family farms of 600,000 pounds, up to farms that produce well over 20 million pounds of milk annually. The Lely Astronaut A4 comes in two models — the Manager and the Operator versions — both with additional options to configure the Astronaut A4 design to the specific needs of the farmer.

In addition to these innovations, the Astronaut A4 features a new milk-friendly pump, which transports the milk to the tank without rotating impellers, which can damage the milk. To reduce downtime as much as possible, key wear parts have been changed into easy-to-replace cartridge systems.